An ACL replacement and meniscus repair in late 2007 put an end to my futsal and squash playing days. My knee was too sore to run or even jog on for quite some time. So I bought a Trek 7.5 FX in May 2009 and started riding in and around Houston, Texas.
From little things big things grow.
I moved to The Netherlands in 2011 and then back to Kuala Lumpur in 2012. In those ten years the Trek was sold, an Alchemy steel road bike and an Alchemy titanium road bike were bought, a Ritchey Breakaway was bought, the steel and titanium bikes were sold and replaced with another Alchemy titanium bike, and the steel bike was repurchased.
This blog is a chronicle of rides, places and thoughts. Thank you for reading my posts.
Old Roots, New Routes 
I actually do remember your Raleigh bike in KL years ago in Freeman.
I wish I still had that Raleigh.
I just want to let you know how much I like your blog. I’m new to bike riding, and I live in Houston. I stumbled onto your blog when researching road bikes. Keep up the good work.
Thank you so much for reading my blog. I was in Houston last week for this year’s MS150. I’ll have a post about it once I get home.
Cheers.
I like your blog name!
Hi,
We’re a group of university students with a dream of planning a ‘Cycle for a cause’ trip to somewhere in Malaysia.
However, we have no prior experience hence do not know where to start. Can you please give us a few pointers?
Do you have any cycling routes to suggest which would take about 3D2N to complete?
Do we need police permit each district we go?
We have yet to decide what the ’cause’ is, but it’ll be related to health awareness.
Thank you and I humbly ask for your assistance or at least in pointing us to the right persons.
Anyone here cyling at kesas highway ?? Please do contact me at 0126531884. Wanna join.
Hi Harvinder. I apologise for the late reply. There are quite a few groups that ride along KESAS. Some during weekday evenings. Others on weekends.
Has anyone contacted you? My group rides at KESAS on Tuesday and Thursday evenings – weather permitting. We haven’t been able to for a month now because of the rain. Out start point is near the shops at Jalan PJS 9/1A. Near Sunway Medical Centre.
If the roads are dry we start at 9pm. Normally one loop to Bukit Jalil Stadium and back. About 32km. Then minum and makan nearby.
Hope you recovering well alchemyrider. Is there any way to contact you? Hope you don’t mind to drop me an email when you read this.
Thank you!
Hi hi alchemyrider,
Hope you are getting well soon.
I would like to contact you too!
Kindly reply me when you see this message 🙂
Regards,
Sook Yen
Great blog. I’m moving to KL from HK soon and am looking for some road cycling routes. Any suggestions of where to ride? A link to some Strava routes or MapMyRide would be awesome! Thanks!
Hi. By all means get in touch when you arrive in KL.
johanmokhtar@yahoo.com
As you can see from my blog I am a social cyclist.
If you are looking for longer / harder / faster riders, check this group out:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/bjcyclist/
I am on Strava as Johan Mokhtar
Here’s my Ride with GPS link:
http://ridewithgps.com/users/19659
Cheers,
Johan
Happy Wednesday,
I’m moving to KL soon to work in the towers…I was looking at living in Bukit Ceylon area which is a bit far to walk. Does anyone ride bikes to work in KLCC area? Is it too dangerous, etc? Is it doable?
Thanks and great blog!
Ryan
Hi Ryan,
I apologise for the late reply.
Bukit Ceylon is just a bit to far from the Towers to walk.
I have seen people cycling to work in the area. I work about 400 metres from the Towers.
The roads in the area are busy, as you would expect. Lots of 100cc to 250cc motorcycles, which is a good thing, because drivers are used to looking out for motorcycles all around them. So they are alert to cyclists as well.
If I lived when you plan to I would be tempted to cycle to work as well.
Let me know when you get to KL. It would be great to meet up. Email me at johanmokhtar@yahoo.com
Cheers,
Johan
Where do you ride these days?
Hi Sri. Thank you for reading my posts.
My friends and I have a set of rides to choose from:
1. Up to Genting Sempah, and sometimes beyond to Janda Baik
2. Along KESAS from Bukit Jalil to Bandar Botanic, and sometimes on to Morib
3. The climbs around Hulu Langat
4. Along the Guthrie Corridor to Kundang, and sometimes beyond to Batu Arang, Ijok, Kuala Selangor etc.
Where to ride on a given day depends on the weather, and what we want to eat.
Best wishes,
Johan
hi johan ,
very interesting ,reading your blog,
more so for me as a rookie in road biking.
keep up the great work.
Thank you so much for reading my blog, and for your kind comment.
Welcome to road biking. Hope to see you on the road one day soon.
Nice blog. Something rare with IG and FB are in dominance. Keep on writing
Thank you for your kind words. And for reading my blog. I hope you continue to enjoy it.
Hi, nice reading many posts of yours. I am planning to bring my bike to KL to ride from Jakarta, thus bump into this blog. Could you advise on how or what method of transportation to use, if we group of 5-7 bikes, arrive at KLIA.
Our bikes will be packed into bicycle box just as in bike store. So it would need big space to fit into a car. thanks and keep on writing!
Hello Alisanta. Thank you for reading my blog posts.
My suggestion for transporting 5 to 7 bicycles, and you and your friends, from KLIA or KLIA2 (arrival terminal depends upon which airline you use) is to use an 18 seater van service.
There are a few providers of van service.
VanKLIA2 – they have 18 seater vans, so 1 van should be enough for your group plus bikes
Website: http://www.vanklia2.com/home.php
email: enquiry@vanklia2.com
WhatsApp / mobile: +6019 999 4595 (Mr Zack)
KLIA Taxi Limo – they have 10 seater vans, so check with them to see if 1 van is enough.
website: http://www.kliataxilimo.com/
email: http://www.kliataxilimo.com/contact-us.html
Mobile: +6011 1060 4810
Note that you cannot book online, because the booking form assumes that you want to travel TO KLIA or KLIA2, and not FROM the airport.
However transport FROM the airport can be arranged by contacting the companies direct.
I hope this helps. Let me know if there is anything else I can do for you.
Best wishes,
Johan
Thanks Johan for your explanation.
We have 2 days for cycling. Going to Sungai Tekala for the first and another day is still undecided.
Are we allowed to climb to Genting Highland? or minimum to the cable car base station.
When are you coming to KL? And where will you be staying?
The road up to Genting Highlands is closed to bicycles. The heavy traffic, including tour buses, makes it too dangerous for bicycles.
You can only cycle to Gohtong Jaya, which is about 8km from Genting Sempah. I believe you can cycle to the lower skyway station from the Gohtong Jaya roundabout.
This 31th of August, plan to stay at Bukit Bintang area. Thus we have Friday and Saturday ride. All of us is hardtail MTB rider, so looking for uphill route 🙂
It is possible to cycle from Bukit Bintang to Tekala. Over Lookout Point and Bukit Hantu.
Also possible to cycle from Bukit Bintang to Genting Sempah. The first 20 to 25km is flat, but there is a 16km climb to Genting Sempah, and 8km to Gohtong Jaya.
Or go down the other side of Genting Sempah to Janda Baik. More climbing to get into and around Janda Baik, and then of course you have to climb to get back to Genting Sempah.
Hi johan mokhtar,
Really Nice Blog… Congratulations for your BRM’s… Nice Blog..
I’m also doing this in Pune, India. It’s always good to know, Cyclists…
If you planning for India trip, let’s catch up…
Regards,
Sangram
Hello Sangram. Thank you for reading my blog. I am so glad that you like it.
Good luck with your future Audaxes. And the next time I visit India, and will be near you, I’ll get in touch.
Very best wishes,
Johan
Hello Johan,
Great blog, best one I’ve found on riding in Malaysia. I am moving to Malaysia. In a weeks time and I am going to be living in Genting Highlands. Would like any advise on routes and any clubs or groups that ride in the area.
Thanks,
Sean
Hello Sean. And an early welcome to Malaysia.
I assume you will be living up at the Genting Highlands Resort. I haven’t been up there in a vry long time. I assume you can ride up there, but it is often foggy, and these days, likely to be overrun with traffic.
Sadly you can’t ride down and back up to the resort either. There is too much traffic on the road, and the police will stop you if you try.
Which for you means driving down to Genting Sempah and parking either at the Genting Sempah flyover, or at the R&R area nearby. You probably know this from my blog. You’ll be doing the reverse of what hundreds of riders do on weekends. We ride up to Genting Sempah from the Orang Asli Hospital, about 16km. Some continue down the other side to Janda Baik and on to Bentong, and then climb back up to Genting Sempah and back down to the hospital.
You would choose which side to descend, and then ride back up.
Alternatively you could drive further to ride the other popular routes around KL. I’ve written posts about all of them.
Search for “KESAS”, “Kota Kemuning”, and “Morib” to get a feel for the route from Bukit Jalil to Morib and back.
Search for “Bukit Jelutong”, “d’Bayu”, “Ijok”, “Kundang” and “Guthrie Corridor Expressway” for the route from Bukit Jelutong in Shah Alam to Kundang, Ijok, and beyond.
Search for “Batu 18”, Genting Peras”, “Titi”, and “Bukit Hantu” for the rides in Hulu Langat.
As for clubs and groups, there are quite a few to choose from. Let me know what kind of riding you do – average distance, average speed etc. That will help me recommend some groups that suit your riding.
I ride with a fairly relaxed group. Search for “R@SKLs” to read about the fgroup and the rides we do.
There are others. For example, Bukit Jelutong Cycling Club (BJCC) is a group of serious riders, i.e. fast, and into rides well north of 100km long.
When exactly do you arrive in KL? Will you have bike(s) with you, or are they coming in sea freight?
Hopefully we can meet up when you are settled.
Best wishes for a safe trip to Malaysia.
Johan
Thanks Johan,
You are correct, I am staying at the Awana Golf resort for at least the first 3 months. That puts me 12km to the flyover and only 2km to the road from Batang Kali to Genting Sampah, the B66. Can I ride this road? If not I can grab a taxi down to the flyover. I will be bringing a bike, I land on the 24th of Feb and intend to get riding as soon as I can. I try to do about 150 to 250km a week with at least one ride of 85km or more. but truth is I haven’t done much riding since late October when I broke my collarbone in a race in Dubai. I would be happy to join you guys on your next Orang to Genting Sampah run. Depending on when you start and how far you go I might peddle down from the flyover to meet up with you guys. Are any of you on Strava? I could follow and see these routes you mentioned.
Thanks for the info,
Sean
Hi Sean,
The B66 down hill from the Awana is off limits to bicycles. Too much traffic speeding up to and down from the casino. So you will have to taxi it from the Awana to the flyover, or R&R. Getting back up to the Awana may be a challenge. I haven’t studied the taxi situation at Genting Sempah.
You can ride the B66 in the other direction from the roundabout to Batang Kali though.
I am on Strava. Look for Johan Mokhtar.
We haven’t decided on this weekend’s riding plans. I’ll let you know if we decide to go to Genting Sempah on Saturday or Sunday.
Cheers,
Johan
That’s great, I dont think I will get out this weekend but I would like to join on the weekend of 03 Mar. I don’t mind heading into KL to join a ride. If you want to climb mountains in the UAE you have to be ready to drive 1.5 hrs. From Strava it looks like KL has plenty of hills!
Definitely no shortage of hills around KL.
I’m glad you found me on Strava. I’m following you too now.
I just put my brain in gear. Of course you won’t be riding this weekend as you don’t arrive in KL until Saturday. I’ll let you know where we will be riding the following weekend.
If I’m not being too nosy, what will you be doing for the Awana?
Safe travels Sean.
P.S. I was sorry to hear about your broken arm. As you are a racer, you’ll [robably want to get connected with some faster riders. BJCC is one option. They tend to average in the mid30s kph.
We can chat more when you get to KL.
Thanks Johan, I’m not much of a racer but some of the Sportifs are the only way to do some of the better routes. When I came off my bike I was about to start the accent of Jebel Hafeet it’s got a near identical profile to Aple d’heuz. I will be working on the 20th Century Fox Theme Park they are building next to the First World Resort. I manage the facades and the area development or whatever else needs manageing. I will fill you in when we’re on the road.
Accidentally bumped into this blog…i find it interesting..keep writing…by the way, i m new to road bike or biking for that matter…just started couple of months ago…
Thank you for reading. I’m sure you will enjoy road biking. I hope you find a compatible group to ride and socialise with.
Do you mind sharing a map of the cycling route. Thank you 🙏 I would like to plan a ride there after reading and seeing your photos.
Hi Rozini. Which cycling route are you referring to?
Sekinchan
Two slightly different routes from Bestari Jaya.
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/42241397
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/49409252
You can also get to Sekinchan along Route 5 through Kuala Selangor. That is a busy road though.
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/12273024
Hi there – what a lovely blog to come across. After 13 years living in KL I’ve decided I need to rekindle my love affair with riding (I rode for May years when in the UK). MCO has allowed me a bit of time to build up a bit of endurance indoors, but I’m waiting on my new bike to arrive in Sept before I get to hit the road again after 30 years ! Any suggestions on how/where to ease back into riding for a reasonably fit 57yr old ? Any clubs that would welcome someone like me ?
Hi Steve. Thank you for reading my blog. I’m glad you like it.
One option for you could be the R@SKLs. The group I ride with. You’ll see a lot of us in the various blog posts on my site.
Our description of ourselves is “Physically mature but mentally youthful cyclists who ride for fun, food, and friendship.”
If that sounds appealing, you are more than welcome to join us. We get up to twenty or so on weekend rides. Ages range from mid-thirties to the early sixties, with a range of fitness and ability. We always regroup at regular intervals so no one is left behind for long.
Which part of KL is home for you? Perhaps we can meet for a coffee and a chat one day.
Hi Johan
I really like your blog.
Is there a way to know when a ride will happen so that I can give it a go with you guys?
Hi Francesco. Thank you for reading.
The R@SKLs have a WhatsApp chat group where we post details of upcoming rides. I can add you to that group id you like.
As you can see from my blog, our rides tend start in Bukit Damansara, Kota Damansara, Denail alam and Rimbayu (Kota Kemuning).
Hi Johan
I’d be happy if you added me to the WhatsApp chat group.
I’ll drop you an email to the address johanmokhtar@yahoo.com with my phone number if that’s ok for you.
That is fine Francesco